What does Gary V sell? He sells himself, and he does it very, very well.

I mean, it’s as simple as the fact that I can say “Gary V” and you instantly know what I mean. So why does it work – and more importantly, how can you create one too?

Why a Personal Brand Works

People do business with those they know, like, and trust. A personal brand helps people feel that they know more about who you really are, which helps them develop the “know, like, and trust” factor.

When you develop a personal brand, you don’t focus your messaging on what you sell, you focus your messaging on who you are and why you’re driven to serve others. This helps tie into another key marketing principle – people love to shop but they hate to be sold.

If you’re focusing on portraying who you are and why you’re serving your audience, you avoid the feeling of “selling” while you are, in fact, boosting the credibility of your products and services.

Finally, people buy based on emotions and justify their decisions with logic later. By building an effective personal brand, you’re building a bank of positive emotions with your targeted tribe. When they see that you have a product or service for sale, they’ll be more likely to buy from you.

How to Build an Effective Personal Brand

I want to get one misconception out of the way right away – an effective personal brand does not have to mean that everyone likes you and you offend no one. In fact, you may turn off a large group of people.

What matters is that you connect deeply with your target customers. You want to build a loyal group of followers – a tribe – and that means you have to take a narrow focus that appeals especially to them.

Let’s look at Gary V again. He’s got an incredibly passionate tribe who hangs on his every word. People who want to hustle at the level that Gary does. People will sacrifice everything in order to succeed. To them, Gary is a hero.

Have a Clear Message. Know what you’re portraying and to whom. Gary V started with a message based on a single word: Hustle. Your message should have that same focus and clarity.

Be Consistent. As someone building a personal brand, you have to keep your public persona consistent. Share the same message and focus on LinkedIn as you do on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and other social media platforms.

Be Unforgettable. One benefit to being controversial is that people remember you. Love you or hate you, they remember. As someone building a personal brand, you can’t afford to be bland or sound like everyone else.

Focus on Exposure. In order to build your personal brand, you have to be visible. Be active on the same social media outlets your customers frequent. Create content – videos, and writing – that gets shared.

Be You. You won’t be successful if you try to be another Gary V or another famous personality. Those folks are taken. Be you, connect with your tribe, and watch your brand grow.

What do people think of when they think of you? Not sure? By clarifying your message and focus you can increase the business seeking you out versus chasing people down!

Ask me how you can get results like my average clients ROI of 5 figures.

I have been a professional coach for almost three years and the value my clients get from coaching with me changes lives. When you are able to become location independent, leave your 9 to 5 or work from the beach, trust me you’ll wonder what took you so long!